A Newsletter of the Portland Branch of the Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume130, June, 2015

We are enthusiastically looking forward to Dr. Sease’s visit in August for the conference, “A Question of Consciousness Today”. This issue provides an introduction to Dr. Sease, and information about the School of Spiritual Science. For information about when she will be meeting with specific groups, see the attached registration flier.

Dr. Sease was born in Pennsylvania. It was through her high school German teacher that she discovered Anthroposophy, and has been a member of the Executive Council of the International Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum since 1984. She was the first member of the Executive Council whose mother tongue was English, and from 1991 - 2001 she led the Section for Speech and Musical Arts. After serving on the Executive Council for 31 years she announced her retirement this year from the business related work of the Council. Now a member emerita, she continues to carry several responsibilities, coordinating speakers and lecture cycles given worldwide, giving Class lessons at the Goetheanum, and leading the Anthroposophical Studies Program in English.

On her retirement, Virginia says, "Although being in good health and enjoying my work, the fact is that I will not be able to follow long term decisions made by the Executive Council".

She takes circumstances of the society with humor and warmth, along with the social tensions that are a part of life.

Accomplishments prior to her work at the Goetheanum include: A B.A. degree in German literature; Fulbright Scholarship study at the University of Tubingen;

Waldorf Teachers seminar in Stuttgart; Class Teacher at Highland Hall Waldorf School; Ph.D. in German literature; assistant professor of German Literature at Occidental College; helping to establish the Waldorf Institute of Southern California; taking a class through grade eight at Highland Hall; serving on the Western Regional Council and the National Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America.

Excerpted from the Goetheanum and Anthroposophical Society in America websites.

An Introduction to the School for Spiritual Science

taken from the website of the Anthroposophical Society in America

At the heart of the Anthroposophical Society is the School for Spiritual Science, an institution intended to be an esoteric school for spiritual scientific research and study.

During the course of 1924 Rudolf Steiner held 19 esoteric lessons in which he introduced his followers to a series of meditations (mantras) along with instructions

The Portland Branch of the Anthroposophical Society

Invites you to

Save The Date!

See the attached Calendar & fliers for more info.

August 28-30 The Question of Consciousness Today with Virginia Sease

Your 2015 dues will be gratefully received. Thank you for helping to make our lively community life possible. Please send $50 – or what you can – c/o Ruth Klein, 3609 SE Center St., Portland, OR 97202

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 2

and guidelines for their use. This set of lessons is known as the First Class and they are made available to those who become members of the School.

After Steiner’s death in 1925 the members of the Executive Council (Vorstand) at the Goetheanum began to convey the contents of these lessons to members of the First Class. Other leaders in the Anthroposophical Society were also assigned to take on this task and circles of Class holders grew in various countries around the world. Today members of the Anthroposophical Society have the opportunity to become members of the First Class and to participate in the instructional lessons.

The School for Spiritual Science is organized into departments, called “sections,” for the purpose of conducting spiritual-scientific research within various professional fields.

Each Section administers its own study and work. Representatives from the Sections meet together as a Collegium. In North America there is one Collegium serving Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. All members of the First Class belong to the General Anthroposophical Section, the Section common to all.

Individuals who are interested in the work of the First Class of the School for Spiritual Science should contact a local group or branch of the Anthroposophical Society. Detailed information about membership can be found in the booklet A Way of Serving: The General Anthroposophical Section of the School for Spiritual Science by Penelope Baring and Ruediger Janisch (Mercury Press, 2013). This book may be ordered through www.mercurypress.org

Sections of the School The General Anthroposophical Section is both the starting point and the center of the School for Spiritual Science. Here a foundation is laid step by step for all branches of spiritual research. The three core subjects are: anthroposophical study of the human being; evolution and the history of humanity; and the science of initiation. These fields cover the broad outlines of anthroposophy. In 1924, Steiner developed the course of study based on meditative exercises that lead "the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the universe." This is the basis for the work of the School for Spiritual Science. It is also the background of the research, teaching, and training activities of the General Anthroposophical Section.

The work of the Section for Mathematics and Astronomy includes qualitative investigations into measure, number, and weight; studies on the morphology of the starry sky and its constellations; and cosmological study of the human being and rhythm research. Particular importance is attached to projective

geometry as the foundation of a new morphology and physics. Research on correspondences between the macrocosm and microcosm and on the place of the human being in this context draws the section into close collaboration with the pedagogical, medical, and agriculture fields.

The Medical Section devotes itself to medical and pharmaceutical research, as well as to training and continuing education of physicians, pharmacists, and therapists. Faced with the pathogenic aspects of modern life, it supports "culturally therapeutic" causes, methodological plurality in scientific discourse, patient's right to choose, and the legal battle for complementary medicine. In its collaborative work with the artistic and scientific sections, two core questions of anthroposophical medicine are central: How does health arise? What is the nature of disease and healing?

By the beginning of the 20th century, science – biology, physics, chemistry – began hitting its own limits. The task of the Natural Science Section is to push beyond these limits, to explore further, to set out from new premises leading to new results and capacities. The foundation for its work is the scientific method developed by Goethe and further developed by Steiner. The key question underlying all considerations is: Can we, by honoring the appearances of the phenomena, reach a scientific understanding that is true to the living world, its supersensible dimensions, and its specific life connections?

In the Agricultural Section, the focus is on research, collaboration, and public representation in the areas of soil management, crop cultivation, animal husbandry, and the farm organism. Knowing and working with planetary-earthly correspondences is basic to the biodynamic method of agriculture as practiced worldwide. These experiences lead to social and economic perspectives, to insights and practical implications for market structuring and to associative activity on regional, national, and international levels.

For the Pedagogical Section, education is the foundation of social progress. The seeds of self-determination, tolerance and peace, human rights, and international understanding are sown in education. This is the art of Waldorf pedagogy. The chief task of the Pedagogical Section is educational research and development based on the anthroposophical image of the human being. The Section supports ideas and initiatives to address the generational problems and the changing needs it perceives in children.

The Section for the Spiritual Striving of Youth sees its purpose more in connecting and advising than in research and teaching. It is a vibrant hub, a place of meeting, exchange, and stimulation. At the same time, it is a place to explore new initiatives and find ways to

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 3

realize them. The essential aim of the Section is future oriented: to support young people in their spiritual striving, their need to understand the world, and their urge to be active.

The Section for Social Sciences is concerned with human relationships in the three spheres of social life: economic, legal, and cultural/spiritual. Depending on the sphere, different fundamental questions arise: How are the basic needs of the world's population to be met? What responsibility does a good citizen bear for the common good? What does a human being need from the world in order to reach his or her potential? With such questions in mind, the Section conducts research, pursuing insight and creative forms in a variety of areas including: family culture, biography work, conflict resolution/peace studies, addiction, economics questions, and the science, practice, and politics of law.

The Section for the Arts of Eurythmy, Speech, Drama, and Music integrates these arts, bringing them to the life of stage and working in concert with other sections to develop their pedagogical and therapeutic potential. Based on a spiritual-scientific image of the human being, its aim is to make visible the complete human being, giving expression to supersensible forces and inherent laws that form the human constitution. The Section is a training center engaged in teaching and research.

The Visual Arts Section embraces painting, sculpture and architecture, furniture design, glass engraving, color studies and plant-color research. Art therapy and art education are also included through inter-sectional work. The process of cultivating Steiner's artistic ideas and developing them further leads to creative working relationships, international exhibitions and events, lectures, colloquia and courses on artistic topics.

The work of the Section for the Literary Arts and Humanities is captured by its motto: "In thought, develop sight." Its aim: to cultivate and deepen the humanities through anthroposophy. Literature and linguistics, aesthetics, history, philosophy, the history of music, and art history are within its purview. Central to its work are literature and poetry, linguistic explorations, and the cultivation of language itself, for language is the living link between content and form. The Section sees its task related to bridging the gap between art and science.

The First Class of the School of Spiritual Science taken from the Goetheanum website

Rudolf Steiner outlines the task of the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science as follows. “In general … it will be necessary for human beings to get to know the spiritual world first in the form of ideas. This is how

spiritual science is cultivated in the General Anthroposophical Society. However, there will be people who want to participate in portrayals of the spiritual world that progress upwards from the form of ideas to manners of expression that are borrowed from the spiritual world itself. There will also be people who want to get to know the paths to the spiritual world in order to tread them with their own souls. The three Classes of the School will be for them.”

Origin, Development and Current Practice Rudolf Steiner announced the School of Spiritual Science when the General Anthroposophical Society was founded during a conference at Christmas 1923. He began establishing the School directly after the conference. He planned to organize it into three Classes and various Sections.

During the course of 1924 Rudolf Steiner gave 38 esoteric lessons (known as Class Lessons) to people who joined the First Class. Twenty-six of these lessons were in Dornach, Switzerland. The Class Lessons comprise a complete spiritual course of 19 fundamental lessons given between February 15 and August 2, 1924, several lessons given at other locations, and seven further lessons September 6 to 20, 1924, which take up the themes of the first part of the 19 lessons in a modified form. Rudolf Steiner had planned to establish a Second and Third Class but was not able to do so because of his illness and death.

Rudolf Steiner had already led an esoteric school from 1904 to the beginning of World War I. This school had three departments in accordance with esoteric tradition. The three Classes of the School of Spiritual Science represent a metamorphosis and further development of that school.

The esoteric lessons which Rudolf Steiner gave to the First Class within the General Anthroposophical Section contain meditative verses with explanations. He was very firm about restricting knowledge of the esoteric content of this “Michael School” to a group of people who fulfilled certain requirements. This group had made a commitment to follow a meditative path of development, to collaborate with each other, and to represent Anthroposophical work in daily life. The lessons were taken down in shorthand with Rudolf Steiner’s permission.

After Rudolf Steiner’s death, members of the Executive Council and later also “Class Holders” designated by them, began conveying this esoteric course material to members of the First Class, using the shorthand notes as a basis. Today there are many groups of Class Holders around the world who meet to discuss questions concerning the work within the First Class and propose new Class Holders to the leadership of the General Anthroposophical Section. The Executive

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 4

Council at the Goetheanum is currently responsible for the General Anthroposophical Section.

The content of the First Class is conveyed either in Rudolf Steiner’s own words or in “free renderings,” where the Class Holder explains and introduces the mantras in his or her own way. In addition, conversations and any other forms of work based on participants’ individual meditative work with the mantras are organized in various ways.

During the decades following Rudolf Steiner’s death the content of the Class Lessons did not remain within the circle of people for whom they were intended and they were published in a somewhat dubious form. The Trustees of Rudolf Steiner’s Estate then published an official version of them in 1992 in collaboration with the Executive Council at the Goetheanum. Although anyone can obtain these texts today, which were not intended for individual study, the members of the First Class work with them in accordance with the prerequisites for membership in the School of Spiritual Science, by placing central emphasis on speaking and listening.

Members of the Anthroposophical Society in America! You are invited to a series of three lectures: Friday evening, August 28th; and Saturday morning and afternoon, August 29th. Your pink Anthroposophical Society membership cards will be required.

Virginia Sease will be presenting the topic, The Question of Consciousness Today. Session topics are: “Rudolf Steiner's Contribution to the Question of Consciousness for Contemporary Life”; “The Enigma of Reincarnation Today and the Activity of the Hierarchies"; and, "The Development of the Human Ego in the Era of the Etheric Christ".

Snacks, a catered lunch and dinner will be provided.

See the registration form on the Portland Branch website for more details about the lectures and conference costs at http://www.portlandanthroposophy.org/question-of-consciousness Early registration before July 31st will save you a bundle. A limited number of work study opportunities are available for those who register early.

Contact James Lee at anthroposophynow@comcast.net

with questions.

Members of the School for Spiritual Science! You are invited to a series of six lectures: Friday evening, August 28th, Saturday, August 29th and Sunday morning, August 30th. Your School of Spiritual Science blue cards will be required.

Virginia Sease will be presenting the topic, The Question of Consciousness Today. Session topics are: “Rudolf Steiner's Contribution to the Question of Consciousness for Contemporary Life”; "The Enigma of Reincarnation Today and the Activity of the Hierarchies"; "The Development of the Human Ego in the Era of the Etheric Christ"; "Silence When Meeting Inner and Outer Experiences of the Threshold"; "Rudolf Steiner's Esotericism before 1914 and its Metamorphosis in the Lessons of the First Class"; and, "A Pathway through the 19 Lessons of the School for Spiritual Science: Encounters with the Hierarchies".

Snacks, two catered lunches and a dinner will be provided.

See the registration form on the Portland Branch website for more detail about the lectures and conference costs at http://www.portlandanthroposophy.org/question-of-consciousness. Early registration before July 31st will save you a bundle. A limited number of work study opportunities are available for those who register early.

Contact James Lee at anthroposophynow@comcast.net

with questions.

Rudolf Steiner’s Contribution to the Question of Consciousness for

Contemporary Life with Virginia Sease Open to the Public

Friday, August 28, 7:30 pm

Cedarwood Waldorf School

3030 SW 2nd Ave., Portland

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 5

I rolled into a new town late one night

trying to get away from my past from all the people I had hurt

and who had hurt me in the struggle to survive.

In the early morning

on the outskirts of town I came upon a dump

where some people had been camping. There among the ruins

I found the grisly evidence in the piles of twisted and contorted flesh and bones

that had been consumed.

I knew this place was not safe that people eat one another here and that I had to protect myself. There were weapons about me

I could garner but they also could call attention to my fear

and I knew this was a place where this would only heighten the battle.

I walked into this new town then

without weapons without defenses

trying to find a way once more to walk through all the towns

I had rolled through so wrongly before.

There was a way of life here that was distant

and yet of which I knew I was very much a part. The grocery stores

the restaurants the tea houses

the school cafeterias the pot luck gatherings all served human flesh

and as I walked down the street I could feel everyone's eyes guiltily, hungrily upon me.

Seeking food and shelter I knew

this was no way to live

as I had tried to live in all other towns before Yet live I must

in this town as in all others.

in this new town this new Jerusalem

I am hoping still to find a better way, a way where we give up our flesh

willingly as in the sacrifice of a loving mother.

The difference is subtle perhaps

yet so important instead of ripping and tearing and eating one another

we give of ourselves willingly

in the feeding of one another

The asuras are here.

In this war of all against all there is only one way to do battle with them.

Many of us are needed to take up this battle

but there is only one type of warrior, both ancient and new,

there is only one strategy that can prevail:

"Here this is my body take of it and eat."

3-20-15

Robert Kellum

Our thanks to Dr. Kellum, who had offered this poem in anticipation of our April workshop with Christine Gruwez , “Evil as a Challenge”.

Local Lodging Requested for Virginia Sease Conference: The Question of Consciousness Today, August 28-30

The Portland Branch is seeking local lodging opportunities for participants in this conference. Typically a one bedroom with bathroom is $35/night. Please contact James Lee at anthroposophynow@comcast.net.

Or 503-249-3804

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 6

First Class of the School of Spiritual Science – Lesson Thirteen Sunday, June 14 , 9:30 am sharp (no admittance after the class starts) • Bothmer Hall, 5919 SE Division St, Portland, 97206, Contact Diane Rumage at 971-271-7479 or Cheri Munske at 503- 484-4133 Blue card required. Second Sunday of each month.

Portland Branch Council Meeting Monday, June 8, 7pm • 2606 SE 58th Ave. • Contact Valerie Hope, 503-775-0778; email valerieannhpdx@aol.com.

All Branch members are welcome to attend, and/or to call us with agenda items, proposals, suggestions, or to observe.

Meetings are on the second Monday of each month.

Portland Children’s Festival – Booking Vendors Now! Sunday, June 28 • Portland Waldorf School, 2300 SE Harrison St., Milwaukie, Or • Contact Meta Bruner, meta.bruner@gmail.com, 503-200-0888 • See Attached Flier

This event – intended to become an annual one - will feature puppet shows, eurythmy performances, storytelling, beeswax

modeling, plays, magic, classical music, folk dancing, lectures on childhood, juggling extraordinare – and lots more! Vendors

and volunteers wanted.

A Visual Arts Intensive in Painting and Drawing for Teachers, with Van James Sunday, June 28 to Friday, July 3 • Honolulu Waldorf School, Makai Campus, 5257 Kalaniana’ole Highway 96821 • $350, $320 until April 1 • Contact Bonnie at art4hawaii@gmail.com or 808-395-1268

What children learn from making pictures and when and how they can best learn this art will be the subjects of a unique six-

morning arts workshop this summer in Honolulu. The course is designed for Waldorf class teachers and homeschooling parent-

teachers who will eventually teach grades 1-8 and also for public and independent school teachers, specialists and art therapists

who want an overview of child development in relation to visual learning. The link below will take you to the flier.

http://honoluluwaldorf.org/pdf/Visual%20Arts%20Intensive%20in%20Painting%20and%20Drawing%20Class%202014-15.pdf

Rudolf Steiner’s Contribution to the Question of Consciousness for Contemporary Life, with Virginia Sease Friday August 28, 7:30 pm • Open to the Public • South Space, Cedarwood Waldorf School, 3030 SW 2nd Ave., Portland 97201 • Contact James Lee for more information or to reserve your place at anthroposophynow@comcast.net .

Today Rudolf Steiner (1861 ‐ 1925) is well‐known in many spheres of life such as Waldorf education, medicine, therapy, bio‐dynamic farming, architecture and art forms in general, and other endeavors which arise out of the impulse of Anthroposophy

(the wisdom of the human being) which he developed. In addition to these fields he may also be credited as a clear thinker who

introduced not only very clear and comprehensive descriptions of human consciousness and its evolution but also examples to

illustrate his findings. We need only embark on a journey through some of his best‐known works such as "Philosophy of

Freedom", "How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds", "Esoteric Science, an Outline", as well as his 6,000 lectures which

were recorded in shorthand, to discover that this enormous edifice ( including his artistic work: 4 Mystery Dramas, 2 large

buildings called "Goetheanum", a more than 26 feet high wooden sculpture) has its fulcrum in consciousness in all of its

manifold diversifications. The greatest contribution of Rudolf Steiner in regard to consciousness may be summed up in one

sentence: All life, all evolution arises and subsists as consciousness and develops further as consciousness.

The Question of Consciousness Today – a conference with Virginia Sease Friday eve. August 28, Saturday August 29, Sunday August 30• South Space, Cedarwood Waldorf School, 3030 SW 2nd Ave.,

Portland 97201 • Contact James Lee at anthroposophynow@comcast.net .

This special conference with Virginia Sease is open to members of the Anthroposophical Society and members of the School for

Spiritual Science. Saturday and Sunday meals and snacks will be catered and are included as part of the conference. We have

several discounted work-study positions available for this event. For additional information and to reserve your place, please

contact James Lee at anthroposophynow@comcast.net. This event is sponsored by the Portland Branch of the Anthroposophical

Society. The conference schedule, lecture titles and summaries are included on the early registration page located on the Portland

Branch Website at http://www.portlandanthroposophy.org/question-of-consciousness.

Art Convergence, Color, Movement and Form Friday July 31-Sunday August 2 • Portland Waldorf School • Contact Patricia Lynch, patriciahomanlynch@gmail.com

Save the Date! More information coming.

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 7

First Class of the School of Spiritual Science • Second Sunday of the month 9:30 am sharp (no admittance after the class starts) • Bothmer Hall, 5919 SE Division St, Portland, 97206 • Blue card required. Contact Diane Rumage at 971-271-7479 or Cheri Munske at 503 772-2632

First Class Study • Second and Fourth Tuesday of the month • Blue card required 7:30-9pm • Contact Tom Klein, 777-3176, Tgklein@aol.com.

This group works with the contents of the class.

First Class Study, Prokofieff • Second Thursday of the Month • For Members of the School of Spiritual Science 7:30-9:00 pm • Contact Rebecca Soloway, jrsoloway@hotmail.com or 503-908-7615

We will be studying The First Class of the Michael School and its Christological Foundations, written by Sergei O. Prokofieff

for members of the School of Spiritual Science (1st class). Please note: You will need to order the book directly from the

Goetheanum, by email, sekretariatSP@goetheanum.ch ; by mail, Sekretariat S. Prokfieff, Postfach, Ch-4143 Dornach,

Switzerland or by fax 0011-41-61-706-4371. Mr. Prokofieff specified that no portion of the book could be photocopied or

transmitted electronically. It is not necessary to have the book in hand for your first meeting. However, blue cards are required.

Council Meetings of the Portland Branch • Second Monday of the month 7-9 pm • 2606 SE 58th Ave., Portland • Contact Valerie Hope, (503) 775-0778, valerieannhpdx@aol.com

All Branch members are welcome to attend, and/or to call us with agenda items, proposals, suggestions, or to observe.

Eurythmy for Waldorf High School Alumni: Wednesdays Study, 6:30-7:30 pm; Eurythmy; 7:30-8:30 pm • Eurythmy Room, Portland Waldorf School, 2300 Harrison St., Milwaukie • Contact

Carrie Mass, Carrie.mass@portlandwaldorf.org

If you’ve ever attended a Waldorf High School, this is for you!

Eurythmy Foundation Course: Tuesday Evenings, and one weekend a month.

Tuesdays 6-7:30 pm; Saturdays 10:30 am - noon & 1-2:30 pm; Sundays 10:30 am - noon • Fee, $20/session • Portland Waldorf School, 2300 SE Harrison St., Milwaukie • Contact Jolanda Frischknecht, 503-896-3345 or jolandafrischknecht@hotmail.com ; or Micha-el Institute, 503-774-4946, http://www.micha-elinstitute.com/

This class is for adults with prior experience in Eurythmy.

Festivals Study Group: Every other Thursday

7-8:30 pm • 3711 SE Brooklyn St. • To find out which Thursday is next contact Suzanne Walker, 503-208-2426 zzwalker@mac.com

We are working with various of Dr. Steiner’s lectures in an effort to better understand the festivals and how best to

observe them.

Mystery Dramas of Rudolf Steiner and Speech-Formation Exercises • Second and Fourth Wednesdays (holidays excluded) 7:30-9:00 pm • Starting anew November 12, 2014. Free. Beginners are welcome –come check us out! • 8654 NE Boehmer St., Portland 97220 • Contact Diane Rumage by e-mail at drumage@comcast.net or by phone at 971-271-7479.

Portland Waldorf School Community Choir • Friday Mornings 8:45-10:15 am • Portland Waldorf School, 2300 SE Harrison St., Milwaukie, in the Orchard Room • Free will donations gladly accepted, all voices are welcome. Contact www.portlandwaldorf.org • pws_choir-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (503) 654-2200

Portland Waldorf School Community Eurythmy: Friday Mornings 8:45-9:30 am, Eurythmy Room, Portland Waldorf School, 2300 Harrison St., Milwaukie • Free

All are welcome. Contact: Carrie Mass, Carrie.mass@portlandwaldorf.org

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 8

The Portland Anthroposophic Times is published monthly to serve Branch members and friends. To learn more about the Portland Branch of the Anthroposophical Society, contact Diane Rumage at 971-271-7479. To submit an article or a calendar item, email it to both Valerie Hope, valerieannhpdx@aol.com and Wes Burch, truelion@comcast.net, The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month. Items selected for publication may be edited for style, content and length. To sign up for our email list, or contact the Branch Council, go to http://www.portlandbranch.org/contact Newsletter co-editors are Wes Burch & Valerie Hope, Seth Miller is our webmaster, and Ruth Klein is our treasurer. The newsletter and calendar are posted on the Branch website, www.portlandanthroposophy.org. Paper copies are available at the Takacs, Pohala and Healthbridge Clinics; and the Cedarwood, Michael & Portland Waldorf Schools, and Swallowtail School. The Portland Branch thanks the following Members & Friends for their Dues and Generous Donations in 2015: Betty Baldwin, Wes & Sandra Burch, Gia Davis, Yvonne DeMaat Julie Foster, Joiline Hardman, Roxanne Hazen, Valerie Hope, Bob Kellum, Donna Kellum, Ruth Klein, Tom Klein, James Knight, James Lee, Robin Lieberman, Regina Loos, Robin O’Brien, Nancy Pierce, Jeff Rice, Susan &Walter Rice, Jannebeth Roell, Diane Rumage, Padeen Quinn Jerry Soloway, Rebecca Soloway, John & Joan Takacs, Chiaki Uchiyama, Elizabeth Webber We will gratefully receive your Branch membership dues ($50 or what you can afford) each January Send to: The Portland Branch c/o Ruth Klein, 3609 SE Center, Portland, OR 97202

The Spiritual Hierarchies and the Physical World Study Group • First and third Tuesdays 7:30-9 pm • 3046 NE 33rd Ave. contact Donna Patterson and Bob Kellum, 503-331-7393 • All are welcome

Theosophy Study Group • First Monday of the Month 7:45-9:00 pm • Bothmer Hall, 5919 SE Division St., Portland 97206 • Contact Jerry Soloway 503-908-7615 or jrsoloway@hotmail.com

Please join us in lively discussions centered on Rudolf Steiner’s Theosophy.

Threefold Social Renewal Study Group • Every Friday 9:40-10:30/11 am • Portland Waldorf School, 2300 SE Harrison St., Milwaukie • contact dr.ali.nd@gmail.com or 503-609-0890

We will start with reading and discussing Johannes Rohen’s “Functional Threefoldness in the Human Organism and

the Human Society”, and will continue to choose readings together under the general topic of the threefold social

organism. All are welcome. Hope you are able to join us!

World Economy Study Group • Last Friday of the Month 6:00-8:00 pm • 3046 NE 33rd Ave. • contact mgivens.lac@gmail.com or 503-609-0890

Please join us in a diverse study group around the principles and practices of Associative Economics. We will be

reading and discussing Rudolf Steiner’s 14 lectures on the “World Economy”. The recommended text is “Economics:

World as One Economy”, translated by Dr. Christopher Houghton Budd. It can be found at

https://www.cfae.biz/publications/shop/

Waldorf Education and Teacher Traini ng Lectures and Courses Conducted throughout the year by the Micha-el Institute. Contact John Miles, 503-774-4946 johncmiles@usa.net

Waldorf Teacher Education, Eugene September-June • Eugene Waldorf School • Contact Lee Ann Ernandes @ message phone, 541-686-9112

Preparing Waldorf teachers for their future vocation since 1990.

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 9

Calendar of the Soul

May 31-June 6, Verse 9

Regardless of all individual willing, telling of summer coming soon, the Warmth that warms the worlds my spirit and my soul is filling, my spirit’s penetrating gaze tells me to lose myself into the light and, “Lose thyself to find thyself’ I hear a voice within incessantly recite.

June 7-13, Verse 10

Nearer the peak of his midsummer heights the climbing sun uprears his blazing head, he takes along with him my human heart into the boundlessness of space, deep down and dimly I am made aware that one day I shall know: ‘But now a godlike being felt you there.’

June 14-20, Verse 11This warm and sun-drenched hour a sermon holds if thou hast ears to hear: Absorbed into the world’s fair show live thou thy feeling through and through, within thee say, ‘I lose myself as man and find myself to be the World I am.’

.

June 21-27, Verse 12; St. John’s Mood The flush of beauty round the world forces my soul to search her depths for godlike powers, to set them free and send them winging out into the world, to leave myself behind me in trust that I shall find me there in the Light, there in the Warmth again.

June 28-July 4, Verse 13 Now that my senses are at home on high I hear my soul re-echo from her depths a fiery message from the Gods: ‘Welcome the hint, seek thine own deep relation to Spirit in the Spirit’s own foundation.’

~Paraphrase, Owen Barfield

St. John the Baptist, by David Newbatt, Wynstones Press St. Johns Day is June 24. To enter into the mood of this time of year read lecture one from The Cycle of the Year at the link below on the archive. http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA223

/English/AP1984/19230331p01.html

Approach to Calendar of the Soul 2015 Last year we offered the translation by Ruth and Hans Pusch. This year we are offering Owen Barfield’s paraphrase of the Calendar of the Soul verses, which can help with penetrating other translations – in the book assembled by Brigitte Knaack, there are seven translations in addition to Rudolf Steiner’s original and Owen Barfield’s paraphrase.

Newsletter, Portland Branch of Anthroposophical Society www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org Volume 129, May, 2015 10

Embryo In Motion: Understanding Ourselves as Embryo

4-DVD Set Now Available With Jaap van der Wal, PhD, MD This beautiful 4-DVD set was professionally recorded live in Portland, OR, June 3–6, 2010.

To learn more about the 4-DVD set and for instructions on how to order it, go to the “shop” portal on the Portland

Branch website at www.PortlandAnthroposophy.org.

And Support the Portland Branch

The Question of Consciousness Today

A Conference with Virginia Sease

Friday evening, August 28th, Saturday, August 29th and Sunday August 30th

EARLY REGISTRATION FORM

This special conference with Virginia Sease is open to members of the Anthroposophical Society and members of the School for Spiritual Science. Friday’s lecture is open to the public. Saturday and Sunday meals and snacks will be catered and are included as part of the conference fee. This event is sponsored by the Portland Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in Portland, Oregon. We have a few discounted work‐study positions available for this event. For additional information and to reserve your place, please contact James Lee at anthroposophynow@comcast.net.

Early Registration Conference Fee (valid through July 31, 2015): (Select the one that applies to you):

☐ I am a member of the School for Spiritual Science. $200

The conference fee includes access to the Friday evening lecture and five lectures on Saturday and Sunday. The conference fee includes two catered lunches; one catered dinner and catered snacks. Blue Card required.

☐ I am a member of the Anthroposophical Society and not a member of the School for Spiritual Science. $125

The conference fee includes access to the Friday evening lecture and two Anthroposophical Society members’ lectures on Saturday. It also includes one catered lunch, one catered dinner and catered snacks. Pink Card required.

Meals: Lunches and dinner included in the conference fee will consist of a poultry‐based main course, predominantly vegetarian offerings, and gluten and dairy free options. Please indicate your primary food preference here:

☐ Poultry ☐ Vegetarian ☐ Gluten Free ☐ Dairy Free

Lodging: When planning your stay in Portland, you will find that there are numerous lodging options available. Traveling around Portland is rather easy and flexible most times of the day. The conference venue is located at the Cedarwood Waldorf School, 3030 SW 2nd Ave. Portland OR 97201. Parking is available on the streets near the school.

Home Stays: There may be a few community home stay possibilities provided by local members, subject to availability. The charge for a room and bathroom is typically $35. If you are interested in a home stay, please indicate that

preference by checking here: ☐ . We will contact you and let you know if a home stay is available.

Name: Nametag Name:

Address:

E‐mail: Mobile Phone:

Please make your check out to “The Portland Branch” and write “Virginia Sease Conference” in the memo line. Mail your Early Registration form and check as soon as possible and before August 1, 2015 to: “Ruth Klein, Treasurer –

Portland Branch, 3609 SE Center Street, Portland OR 97202.” (After July 31, 2015 conference fees will be

$250/$150.)

You can submit your registration form and make a payment using PayPal or your credit card at the Portland Branch

website: http://www.portlandanthroposophy.org/question-of-consciousness.